Command Structure
by lovablegeek
Summary: Jack and Yvonne Hartman have a complex relationship, under any definition of the word. - One shot


Jack met Yvonne Hartman before she took command of Torchwood One. She was twenty-six and coolly professional, a researcher who'd gained respect and rank through ruthless efficiency, a natural air of confidence and command, and a terrifying aptitude for figuring out alien weapons systems. He'd come to London on Alex's behalf, to justify Torchwood Three _not_ just handing one of their newer toys over to One.

He'd expected to speak to Card, Torchwood One's _actual_ boss. Instead, they handed him off to Yvonne.

Her office wasn't large, didn't even have any windows except out onto the hall, but Yvonne didn't need a large office or obvious indications of authority. The way she stood, the way she moved, it all called to mind a large, powerful cat, with a calm, lazy smile and claws half-sheathed.

"Captain Harkness," she said as he stepped inside. "Have a seat."

He flopped into the chair, leaned back, set his feet against the edge of the desk, and smiled. Yvonne glanced from his feet up to his face, and returned his smile like she found the show of defiance charming. Jack couldn't decide whether he felt pleased by that, or a little disappointed she didn't take the bait.

* * *

Meetings with Yvonne when he happened to be in London soon became the norm rather than the exception. Yvonne sat behind her desk, fingers laced. Jack sat in the chair in front of her desk, usually with his feet on top of it. Yvonne never told him to move them, seeming to hope he'd take the hint from pointed glances, which he never did.

"Torchwood Three is directly on top of the Rift. You expect us to just hand over anything _good_ we find because you asked for it?"  
"If it's necessary to the defense of the British Empire, yes. Torchwood Three is a support team."  
"If it's necessary to the- You realize then _we'd_ be defenseless?"

"You used to speak about a Doctor - _the_ Doctor, rather. Before Torchwood recruited you."  
"Finally got the clearance to read those files, did you?"  
"Care to talk about him?"  
"Not in your lifetime."

"This is a nice office. Very impressive. Got the word Torchwood on the wall too. And the windows. And the - actually, is all of that necessary?"  
"I didn't design the office, Captain Harkness."  
"Nice view too. Mind you, I don't really want to be around when you start poking at that spatial disturbance. Seems like a good recipe for unpleasant death, but..."  
"Your opinion has been noted."

"You know, Miss Hartman, I'd think you were flirting with me if you weren't so professional."  
"I'd think you were professional, Captain Harkness, if you weren't so tactless."

* * *

Jack had moved all the bodies into the vaults, got most of the blood off the floor... and then the phone in Alex's office rang. He normally wouldn't be able to hear it over the usual chatter - or shouting, as the case may be and often is with Torchwood - but the Hub was deathly silent, and the ringing was much too loud now.

He walked tiredly to Alex's office, picked up the phone without bothering to clean the blood off his hands. He didn't even remember whose blood it was at this point. Lizzie's? Stephen's? It smeared on the white plastic of the phone, leaving fingerprints in read.

Yvonne spoke before he had a chance to say hello. "Alex, you promised me expenditure reports _three weeks ago_. As it is now the new year, I was hoping-"

"This isn't Alex." His voice sounded dead. Hollow. To his own ears, at least - maybe Yvonne would hear something different.

There was a pause, and then Yvonne's tone shifted slightly, turning a little less official, a little more concerned. "Jack." She never called him Jack. "Is something wrong?"

"Alex is dead. I'm the only one left. And I'm afraid Torchwood Three no longer accepts the authority of Torchwood One." He paused a moment, more to gather his thoughts than anything. Yvonne, surprisingly, said nothing. "I'll explain later," he said at last. "Goodnight, Ms. Hartman."

He let the phone fall back into the cradle with a sigh, and turned away. The phone rang again. He ignored it.

* * *

He still had Yvonne's phone number - he was a little surprised, when he called it, to find that it still worked, and put him straight through to Yvonne.

"Jack. I have to say, I'm surprised to hear from you." She thankfully did not mention the last time they'd spoken, over a year ago, when they had that disaster with the squid and had to call in a favor from Torchwood One. Jack was grateful for that.

"You shouldn't be," he snorted, and leaned over in his desk chair so he could see out his office door, into the main Hub. Suzie still looked annoyed, and Owen was still protesting that his reaction had been perfectly reasonable. "One of my team members tried to shoot _something_ that appeared in our Hub. He almost hit my second in command. And now I hear there are ghosts showing up all over the country."

Yvonne paused, and then asked delicately, "Are you asking me to explain how your security was breached? Because Torchwood One doesn't-"

"I'm asking if you had anything to do with it, if you _know_ anything about it... I've already spoken to UNIT, and they're as surprised as we are." He sighed, rubbing at his temples. "I'm just asking for an explanation."

"I'm afraid that's information I can't give to an outside organization." Jack swore and hung up the phone before she had the chance to say goodbye.

"What happened?" Suzie called. Jack didn't lift his head from his hand, still with his fingers pressed against his temples.

"We're not cleared for that information."

* * *

"The building will be locked down. You should be able to get around that, just keep an eye out." Jack should be the one going, he knew the layout of the building and if there happened to still be Cybermen there... but one of them has to stay in Cardiff, and none of the others would be able to handle it alone if something came up.

He sighed and leaned against his desk, glancing past Suzie for a moment before swinging his gaze back to meet her eyes. "You and Tosh comb the wreckage for any technology we should have and other people shouldn't get their hands on. You know what I'm talking about. Owen stays out in the SUV, keeps an eye out for any potential problems."

"We're really all that's left?" Suzie asked, and Jack froze for just a second, then nodded.

"Just us."

"Good riddance," Suzie muttered, before catching the look in Jack's eyes and glancing briefly away. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Take your time," Jack said, and pushed himself back from his desk, turning away. "Don't leave anything behind." You couldn't afford mistakes when you were all that was left.


End file.
